Chinese not a threat to EA integration
ARUSHA, Tanzania, August 25, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chinese in East Africa are residing within the capital cities under the national laws of each particular state and they are not any threat to the regional integration process,” an official of the East African Community (EAC) has clarified.
“EAC Partner State have got national immigration laws that allow immigrants from other parts of the world enter, stay and work in their jurisdictions instead of discriminating against them,” said the EAC Director for Social sectors Mary Makoffu.
“They do this irrespective of the fact that they have already signed the East African Community (EAC) Common Market Protocol that binds them,” she explained.
Director Makoffu said this following media reports that had quoted her saying that the increasing number of Chinese in East Africa’s major capital cities engaged in small business is posing a threat to the implementation of the Common Market Protocol among the EAC Partner States.
She was last week addressing journalists who were undergoing one-week training on reporting regional integration in Arusha, Tanzania during the week ending 19 August 2011.
While presenting a paper on “The Movement of Persons and Labour, Immigration Issues: Current Status and Common Market Oblidgations” she said that Article 104 of the Treaty establishing the East African Community highlights provisions on easing of the border crossing and maintaining common standard travel documents.
The EAC official added that the Common Market Protocol also urges Partner States to open border posts for 24 hours, develop common labour policies and legislations, and enhance employers and workers organisations.She told journalists that the EAC has established the Sectoral Committee on the facilitation of free movement of persons, immigration, labour and employment and refugee management.
She disclosed that operational challenges which will hamper the implementation of the Common Market Protocol can be categorised as legal, administrative and social adding that legal challenges include the development of Council regulations and directives to govern enjoyment of the rights in the protocol.
“Although the process has already been initiated but may take some time,” she noted. Director Makoffu explained that the rights provided under Article 10 and 13 to workers and self employed persons have been granted under national laws while partner states have initiated a process of enacting domestic laws to enshrine the principles of non discrimination.
She added that administrative issues will include mutual recognition of professional qualifications, licensing of establishments and issuance of work permits.
The EAC Official disclosed that the other challenge is lack of awareness by the nationals of the Partner States on the EAC integration agenda, the benefits and the provisions of regionally negotiated legal frameworks.
She emphasized that the immigration and movement of labour aspects of the EAC Common Market Protocol will for the remaining part of the integration process dictate the integration agenda.
“The challenges cited should be seen as opportunities for all East Africans to exercise the freedoms and rights enshrined in the Common Market Protocol and for governments to create an enabling environment for the achievement of a functional protocol,” she concluded.
SOURCE
East African Community (EAC)
